weight in stirrups?

[FreedomStar]

As some of you read, I had a horrible lesson last friday. but one of the things i've been thinking about constantly is how the instructor told me that I had too much weight in my stirrup. I'm confused. She said my foot should be parallel to the ground, and then put her hand under my boot and told me to stand up. I was afraid of crushing her hand, of course, so I stood up very gingerly, and then she asked 'you're afraid of standing my hand aren't you?' and of course I said yes. Then she said that is how much weight I should have in my stirrup!!! I'm confused, if that's how much weight I should have in my stirrups, then where does the rest of it go? Did she mean more weight in my heels?? But that would mean I'd have to have 'heels down' and she told me to keep my heels up a little more to be more parallel to the ground.

[galadriel]

The rest of your weight should be spread over your thigh and calf. Where does your weight go when you ride stirrupless? You sit on and around the horse; your weight sinks down through your seatbones, through your thighs, and lightly holds your calf against the horse's side.

[amylou_84]

one thing im always told when being persuaded to ride without stirrups is that the stirrups are only there to rest your feet on. i only found out what that meant when i cantered without stirrups for the first time. i came away from that lesson exhilarated (sp?) and more sore than usual as i used my thighs and calves alot more that lesson :D

amy :D

[virtuallyhorses]

I think what she was meaning was that you are jamming your heel down already. It also means that the ball of your foot is equally jammed onto the stirrup. This would create 'too much weight' rather than a "foot should be parallel to the ground".

Try to think about how level your stirrup is instead - at first I felt like I had to push on my toes or the top of my foot but this 'pushing' is only relative to my previous sensations.

I've just been through this whole reorganisation of my foot thing myself and it is VERY odd. My brain still can't logically work out where I am standing either ! There's something very funny that happens with gravity and physics on a horse !!! :eek: Once you get the whole balance thing right you seem to be able to do quite impossible things like balancing on thin air :)

http://impsdiary.blogspot.com/

[FreedomStar]

so when I post or canter with stirrups, I should be posting like I do without stirrups? Because I have no problem posting no stirrups...

[virtuallyhorses]

ummm maybe depending on whether you grip with your knees and legs in order to rise without stirrups or not.... but yes, if when you are doing rising trot without stirrups you feel like you are 'hovering' around the horse then this is also what you should be doing when you have your stirrups. You do need to have some weight in them but not pushing or jamming your foot into them.

[FreedomStar]

ok, I guess I do have a lot of weight in my stirrups, but i'm always hearing to keep my weight into my heels! When I stand up in my stirrups I just let my weight sink through my legs into my heels. i'm guessing that this is incorrect?

[oliver twist]

my instructor always tells me to put my weight in my heels (or something to that effect). is this wrong? how do you not put weight in your heel? well, actually i find it difficult to put weight in my heel anyway :rolleyes:. how should your weight be distributed? sorry if someone already answered that.

[horsemad]

Hi FreedomStar

I have a similar problem to you. I find it is a constant struggle to keep my heels down without forcing my heel down and putting too much weight in the stirrup. I think part of the problem is that when I first learned to ride, I was always told to keep my heels down - but if you try to keep your heels down, this usually means you force your heels down, which causes tension in your leg, and actually stops you sitting deep in the saddle. So I got into the bad habit of forcing my heels down which I think caused problems with my seat in general.

But with more 'enlightened' instructors recently, I've learned that if your leg is in the correct position, your heel will be slightly down naturally, without you having to force it into position. Think of pointing your knee down to the ground and letting the lower leg hang down naturally. (I can maintain this position at halt, its when we have to move, it all goes a bit pear-shaped ;))

Another tip - if you think of keeping your toes up slightly, rather than keeping your heels down, this seems to prevent you putting too much weight in your stirrups. Don't know why that is, but it seems to work :)

[kedwards]

To some extent, it depends on the riding style being taught, as well. For jumping, you do want some weight in your heels and stirrups (although the weight should still be distributed throughout your leg as well). For dressage, where your seat is deeper, your legs hang longer, the foot more even, and the ankles more relaxed.

[Lancashire Lass]

Hi FreedomStar... can I ask you something?.... when you rise where do you rise from?...

[SwiftwindSpirit]

Originally posted by amylou_84
one thing im always told when being persuaded to ride without stirrups is that the stirrups are only there to rest your feet on. i only found out what that meant when i cantered without stirrups for the first time.

When I cantered without stirrups for the first time (about 2 months ago), I was told by the instructor at that time that I should still keep the weight in my feet, and she told me to keep my heels down, as if the stirrups were still there.. hmm Yeah, cantering without stirrups is heaps of fun! Definately not as scary as I thought it'd be!

[FreedomStar]

wow, lots of replies!!! thanks everyone!! Now I've got another question that has to do with this whole weight thing...The pony that I ride at the moment is very cute, speedy, and jumps amazingly well. But she has problems picking up her right lead after a fence, and always picks up the wrong one. We've managed to get the left lead and I'm working on the right lead. I tried shifting my weight to the right and using my left leg, but it's not working!! It's usually pretty easy for me to get horses to get the correct lead after a fence, so I don't know what's up! I asked one of my instructors (I take lessons with 2) and she said it's because I twist my body when I ride, but then my regular instructor said I only do it when I canter and jump....confusion!! Would this affect the horse greatly? I know that I need to twist my shoulders out and my buns in when cantering or jumping..I can't always tell when I'm doing it though. So when we go to higher jumping, or more intense riding, it's very hard for me to keep my position straight without twisting naturally back. Does anyone have any exercises so that I can keep myself straighter, therefore distributing the weight more evenly?